Programs

Bio

Elliott Abrams is a senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC. He served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor in the administration of President George W. Bush, where he supervised U.S. policy in the Middle East for the White House.

Mr. Abrams was educated at Harvard College, the London School of Economics, and Harvard Law School. After serving on the staffs of Sens. Henry M. Jackson and Daniel P. Moynihan, he was an assistant secretary of state in the Reagan administration and received the secretary of state's Distinguished Service Award from Secretary George P. Shultz. In 2012, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy gave him its Scholar-Statesman Award.

Mr. Abrams was president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC, from 1996 until joining the White House staff. He was a member of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom from 1999 to 2001 and chairman of the commission in the latter year, and in 2012 was reappointed to membership for another term. Mr. Abrams is also a member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, which directs the activities of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. He teaches U.S. foreign policy at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

Mr. Abrams joined the Bush administration in June 2001 as special assistant to the president and senior director of the National Security Council for democracy, human rights, and international organizations. From December 2002 to February 2005, he served as special assistant to the president and senior director of the National Security Council for Near East and North African affairs. He served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for global democracy strategy from February 2005 to January 2009, and in that capacity supervised both the Near East and North African Affairs and the democracy, human rights, and international organizations directorates of the NSC.

He is the author of four books, Undue Process (1993), Security and Sacrifice (1995), Faith or Fear: How Jews Can Survive in a Christian America (1997), and Tested by Zion: the Bush Administration and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (2013); and the editor of three more, Close Calls: Intervention, Terrorism, Missile Defense and "Just War" Today; Honor Among Nations: Intangible Interests and Foreign Policy; and The Influence of Faith: Religion and American Foreign Policy.

Languages:

French (fluent), Spanish (fluent)

Middle East Policy After the "Arab Spring"

When protests swept the Arab world in 2011, the United States hoped that the so-called Arab Spring would bring a wave of liberalization and democratization to the Middle East. Today, with much of the region still contending with instability, sectarian violence, and authoritarianism, the United States faces several foreign policy conundrums. Should Washington resign itself to "Arab exceptionalism"—the long-held belief that Arab societies are immune to global waves of democratization— and give up on its hopes for political progress in the region? Should it seek the closest possible relations with existing governments regardless of their political characteristics? Or should it back the players, in each society, who continue to struggle for liberal values, democratic institutions, and human rights? And if the latter, does the United States know how to act effectively to promote political reform while limiting the damage to its relations with those in power? My work on these issues will result in a book outlining the nature of the challenge and suggesting how U.S. foreign policy should address it. I also convene the Middle Eastern Studies Roundtable Series to discuss these questions.

This project is made possible in part through the support of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

The Future of the Middle East "Peace Process"

The Israeli-Palestinian peace process never ends—nor does it seem to make much progress. In blog entries, op-eds, and magazine articles (and in my most recent book, Tested by Zion: The Bush Administration and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict), I analyze the often energetic American efforts to bring about a negotiated settlement and the Israeli and Palestinian reactions to them. There were no serious negotiations during President Obama's first term. In 2013, a dogged effort by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry brought the parties back to the table, but the talks collapsed acrimoniously nine months later. Are there any hopes for reviving the negotiations now, after the Gaza war? And would such talks have any real chance of achieving a two-state solution, or do the Israelis and Palestinians participate in them only to calm their publics and satisfy the insistent Americans? I look at the periodic negotiations, the domestic politics of both sides, and the facts on the ground that may be leading toward or away from realistic solutions.

How to Advance Human Rights

Over the last decade, human rights groups have documented a decline in freedom around the world. In some countries, such as Venezuela and Egypt, elected leaders used democracy to get into power and then abused that power; in others, such as Russia, autocrats have simply acted more forcefully against their opponents. The question for the United States is how to weigh the importance of promoting human rights and determine what tools are most effective in doing so. In my experience, firm presidential leadership and pressure work better than the human rights and democracy promotion programs of USAID, the State Department, and other U.S. government bodies in affecting foreign governments' behavior. The nongovernmental and civil society organizations that Washington supports abroad seem to protest more effectively than they build. Strong democratic political parties are essential for advancing political change. How should the United States help democratic activists build them? Can it help protect such people while they work for democracy in dangerous settings? These are issues I address in occasional writings.

Elliott Abrams says the Egyptian military wants to maintain correct relations with Israel, honor the peace treaty, and continue receiving American aid, but firing rockets into Israel threatens these goals.

Elliott Abrams says the politicizing of intelligence on Syria is part of the Obama administration's continuing defense of its failure to help the Syrian opposition and is a misuse of the intelligence community.

Events

Conflict in the Middle East has been near the top of the American foreign policy agenda for a half century. Through discussions with academic experts and especially with current and former government officials, this roundtable series aims to inform the debate surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as other challenges facing the region. These roundtables discuss developments in the region and the goals and impact of U.S. actions, with an eye to deepening understanding of the Middle East and analyzing how to make U.S. foreign policy more effective.

Session One: Prospects for Democracy

Speakers:

Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations, Michael Willis, Director of Middle East Centre and H.M. King Mohammed VI Fellow in Moroccan and Mediterranean Studies, St. Antony's College, University of Oxford

U.S. Policy Toward Cuba: Is It Time for a Change?

Presider:

Speakers:

Elliott Abrams, President, Ethics and Public Policy Center, former Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Charles B. Rangel, U.S. House of Representatives (D-N.Y.)

In the Washington Post’s blog Right Turn, Elliott Abrams is interviewed about the recent Israeli elections. He explains that despite the Obama administration’s best efforts, Prime Minister Netanyahu was re-elected. The question now is whether Obama and Netanyahu will make an effort to repair relations between the two governments.

In an article in USA Today, Elliott Abrams was interviewed on the results of the recent Israeli elections. He explains the that the rift between the U.S. and Israeli administrations is growing and why it seems like the Obama administration doesn’t care to patch things up.

In an interview with Fox News, Elliott Abrams discusses the upcoming Israeli elections. Abrams explains that many Israelis are focusing on domestic affairs like the cost of living more than security questions like Iran. This benefits the opposition coalition led by Isaac Herzog.

In the Washington Post blog Right Turn, Elliott Abrams is quoted as saying that although John Kerry questions Netanyahu’s credibility because he was in favor of the Iraq war, Kerry himself was in favor of the war before he was against it.

In an article in the New Republic, Elliott Abrams is quoted on Rand Paul’s proposed Stand with Israel Act and says cutting funding to Palestinian Authority would not be a useful step for promoting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

According to the 2015 Freedom House report, “Freedom in the World” is on the decline for the ninth consecutive year. Elliott Abrams points to America's perceived decline in power and diminished interest in advancing human rights under President Obama as factors contributing to this trend.

In the wake of rising anti-Semitism in France and the terrorist attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris, Elliott Abrams discusses the precarious situation of Jews living in Europe and what needs to be done to restore a sense of security to those communities.

In the wake of the Palestinian Authority's failed attempt to receive recognition as a state from the United Nations Security Council and its upcoming appeal to the ICC, Elliott Abrams explains that Fatah's bold steps on the international stage are the product of its fears to face Hamas and its own population.

With the rise of the Islamic State and the obliteration of the Iraq-Syria border, Elliott Abrams explains why striking the Islamic State exclusively in Iraq would turn Syria into a safe haven for its forces.

Elliott Abrams, Thomas Pickering, and Stephen Walt examine President Obama's commencement speech at West Point. They discuss the President's policies on intervention, human rights, and the armed forces.